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Amazing food can be found on nearly every block in Sunset Park. The neighborhood is home to one of New York City's largest Mexican populations as well as one of the city's fastest growing Chinese communities, so as you can imagine, the restaurants, groceries, and cafes are diverse and delicious. Thankfully, most meals are also quite affordable, which is great when you're trying to survive on an AmeriCorps stipend! The following lists are divided by area/type of food, and all establishments have been visited and recommended by AmeriCorps members. Around 8th Avenue (Chinese, Malaysian, Vietnamese, other Asian) Restaurants / Cafes / Take-Out *'Pacificana: 813 55th St. at 8th Ave.' DIM SUM HEAVEN! Don't be dismayed by the seemingly long wait and overwhelming weekend and weekday crowds. Dim sum is served EVERY day, not just on weekends, and the dishes are shockingly cheap not to mention incredibly delicious. Go with a larger group so that you can try more things, and prepare to be assertive as dishes and carts fly by your table. Pacificana may be a little tough for strict vegetarians, as most dim sum offerings contain meat or shrimp. Things to try: Fried dough wrapped in rice paper noodles, hot peppers stuffed with shrimp, and the cart of puffy pastel sweets. *'Huang Jia Seafood: 4111 8th Ave btw 40th & 41st. '''Fujianese specialties and fresh seafood. A great late-night option: this restaurant is crowded til 3 am every night. Consider showing up early for Fujianese breakfast snacks, served only til 2 pm. Things to try: eggplant casserole, peanut butter noodles (only til 2pm), and taro cake (only til 2 pm). *'Ba Xuyen: 4222 8th Ave btw 42nd & 43rd.' Hailed by some critics as the best spot for Vietnamese sandwiches in New York, Ba Xuyen is one place you don't want to forsake. Every sandwich we've tried has been great, and they taste even better when paired with a silky sweet avocado milkshake or thick and rich Vietnamese coffee. Get some sandwiches and a blanket and have a picnic in the park! *'Thanh Da: 6008 7th Ave btw 60th & 61st, & Thanh Da II: 5624 8th Ave btw 56th & 57th. Strong competitors with Ba Xuyen for the best banh mi in Sunset Park. The original Thanh Da has a larger menu and plenty of seating, while Thanh Da II is just for banh mi takeout. Try a salty plum soda or a Vietnamese coffee. *'Yunnan Flavor Garden: 5121 8th Ave. '''One of the only places in New York to try food from Yunnan province in Southern China. The space is better suited to take-out and proprietors are very friendly and helpful. Rice noodle soups are their specialty, and also try the cold noodles: sweet, sour, and spicy with lots of cilantro and peanuts. *'New Belachan: 6102 8th Ave btw 61st & 62nd. Arguably the best Malaysian food in Sunset Park. Try roti canai, hokkien noodles, and fishball curry soup. Skip the sushi! Only a little more expensive than surrounding restaurants. *'Wong Good Hand Pulled Noodle Soup: 5410 8th Ave btw 54th & 55th.' Brimming bowls of soup with hand pulled noodles. Watch the cooks make fresh noodles every hour. Also try the chewy, thick "knife peel" style of noodles. $5 - $7 for large bowls of soup. *'Mai Thai: 4618 8th Ave btw 46th & 47th.' Decent Thai food cooked by a Chinese family, and the only Thai food available in Sunset Park. *'Metro Cafe: 4924 8th Ave btw 49th & 50th.' Spicy, tingly Sichuan food. Make sure you order something with Sichuan peppercorns to experience their numbing spice. Also try the cold tofu noodles. *'Gia Lam: 4810 8th Ave btw 48th & 49th, & Gia Lam II: 5414 8th Ave btw 54th & 55th.' Two identical Vietnamese restaurants that are good for classic dishes like phở, bún chả, and fresh spring rolls. Vegetarian phở is available, and portions are huge and very cheap! *'Everett C & C: 5721 8th Ave btw 57th & 58th.' A Fujianese restaurant similar to Huang Jia Seafood, with a fancier ambience. Extensive menu with lots of seafood options...if you can speak Chinese, ask for recommendations, as all the food we saw people enjoying looked amazing. Delicious eggplant and complimentary salted peanuts. *'Great Taste Dumpling: 4317 8th Ave btw 43rd & 44th.' $2 for 8 steamed dumplings or 10 fried ones. Vegetarian dumplings too! In addition, try the sesame pancake with vegetables and the hot & sour soup. You can buy frozen dumplings in bulk (100 for $15) at the shop. *'Blue Sky Delicious Corporation: 4518 8th Ave btw 45th & 46th.' One of the many Chinese bakeries/cafes along 8th Avenue. Fresh coconut, custard, taro, & red bean buns, and delicious winter melon "wife cakes." Very creamy coffee and bubble teas too. You can find these pastries/beverages at all of the cafes on 8th Ave, so stop by some random ones to find your favorite spot! *'I Bakery: 8th Ave btw 59th and 60th. '''A few stores away from New Belachan, this bakery has a fairly large selection of Chinese baked goods and most pastries are .90 cents. They have BOGO on bubble tea and other cold drinks or BOGO cold drink and ice cream if you use your student ID - so you can share with a co-worker/fellow AmeriCorps member. Or just get two for yourself. Markets / Supermarkets *Every block of 8th Ave has at least one fresh market, whether its a temporary stand or an established business. Most markets accept EBT (Food Stamps), and produce is incredibly diverse (dragonfruit, lychee, winter melon), fresh, & cheap. *'Hong Kong Supermarket: 6023 8th Ave btw 60th & 61st. Great for Chinese/Japanese/Korean snacks, dry & fresh Asian cooking ingredients, and cooking supplies like woks/dishware. Accepts EBT. *'Podlasie Market: 4722 8th Ave btw 47th & 48th. '''A Polish market that accepts EBT. A good selection of popular Polish foods like frozen dumplings, borscht, sausage/cured meats, and chocolates. *'C-Town: 4511 8th Ave btw 45th & 46th. A supermarket for all your basic needs. Accepts EBT. Around 5th Avenue (Mexican, Peruvian, Cuban, etc.) Restaurants / Cafes / Take-Out *'Mexi Deli on 5th ave close to 60th St', across from Our Lady of Perpetual Health. Amazing quesadillas and burritos! Range $4.50 - $7. * Don Paco Lopez Panaderia: 4703 4th Ave btw 47th & 48th. 'One side of this shop is a bakery and the other side is a small restaurant. Buy some fresh Mexican breads or sit and order a tamale or a torta (pressed sandwich exploding with cheese, avocado, your choice of meat, sour cream, egg, stuffed chiles, you name it). The restaurant menu is a bit unreliable but tortas and tamales are always available, and in the winter try champurrado, a thick, hot, chocolate-based drink with corn hominy flour, cane sugar, and spices. *'Las Rosas Bakery: 5824 4th Ave btw 58th & 59th. 'Another great Mexican bakery near the 59th St N/R stop. Try the decadent tres leches bread pudding. *'La Gran Via Bakery: 4516 5th Ave btw 45th & 46th. 'Excellent Cuban bakery with decent coffee and a huge selection of cakes and pastries. Recommended: "Cubierta" cake thats covered with icing and layered with guava jam, and "goiaba y queso" (guava & cheese) pastries. *'Cafe con Pan: 5401 5th Ave btw 54th & 55th. A Mexican bakery with amazing tres leches cake. *'Tacos Xochimilco: 4501 5th Ave btw 45th & 46th. '''Inexpensive, and accepts credit cards. *'Tulcingo Deli VI: 5520 5th Ave btw 55th & 56th.' Try the nopales (cactus) tacos! *'Ricos Tacos: 505 51st St at 5th Ave.' Serves both typical and more unusual tacos, including tacos orientales with fried spiced pork, and tacos arabes with spit-roased pork. Recommended: tostadas de tinga (chicken in a spicy red sauce) with a glass of horchata (a cold rice milk drink with cinnamon). *'Tacos Matamoros': Two locations at '''4508 5th Ave '''and '''5717 5th Ave'. Decent enchiladas. *'Tacos El Bronco: 4324 4th Ave btw 44th & 43rd. '''Delicious tortas, tacos, and burritos. From around 8:00 pm - 1:00 am, Tacos El Bronco parks a truck one block over on 5th and 44th in front of Key Foods. Local fame means you'll have to wait a few minutes as your tacos are made to order: it's worth it, friends. Ask for the campechano taco (filled with a combination of chorizo and suadero meat), and get a Jarritos grapefruit soda. Markets / Supermarkets *'Key Food on 4320 5th Ave is one of the larger grocery stores in Sunset Park. Good selection, affordable prices, takes EBT. Slowly beginning to cater to those pioneers of gentrification: the hipster crowd migrating down from South Slope. *'''Bravo Supermarket on 5818 4th Ave is small but has a good selection. The employees are hilarious. Culinary Miscellany *'Savoy Bakery: 4501 4th Ave btw 45th and 46th. '''An excellent Chinese bakery, pastries are fresh and cheap (about .70-.90 cents). Excellent coconut buns, and unlike the ones on 8th Ave, they're sprinkled with a few sesame seeds (instead of the usual coating of yellow sugar, which will get all over your work outfit, and make your supervisor think you're kind of a hot mess). Also try the cream cheese danish. *'Generoso's Bakery:' '''5812 5th Ave btw 58th and 59th. '''Pretty much the only Italian bakery left in Sunset Park. If you have an office birthday party, the cake will probably be from Generoso's. Authentic cappuccinos, and a good place to get a quick coffee/bagel breakfast deal. Recently they started serving excellent sandwiches. Plan ahead and call in your order, because they take a long time. Worth it. *'Rossman Fruit and Vegetable District: 770 3rd Ave btw 25th and 26th'. A huge selection of extremely affordable produce, accepts EBT, and is open 24 hours. Lots of international products and a weirdly diverse cheese selection. Berries always seem to be on sale. Grab some sour cherry juice in the back, by the dairy case. IT'S SO GOOD. Slightly sketchy location on 3rd Ave, but completely worth the trip. *'The Green Fig Bakery Cafe: 36th St btw 4th and 5th Ave. 'The most hipster establishment in Sunset Park, The Green Fig is tucked among a tattoo parlor, a gas station, and an evangelical church. Super-friendly wait staff, free wi-fi, and good coffee. If you're here for breakfast, order the bagel with prosciutto baked inside. Unless you're a vegan-- in which case, the Green Fig has an array of baked goods with you in mind. *'Snack Lady: 59th St and 4th Ave. '''On your way to the Family Support Center? Perhaps you're in Sunset Park and running late to work? From September to June, Snack Lady is stationed at the northwest corner of the 59th St. N/R station, right by the athletic fields of local elementary school PS 503/506. Snack Lady (or sometimes, Snack Ladies) has a cartful of Ziploc bags, each filled with a different assortment of kid-friendly snacks. Just $2 for any bag, you can score a Capri Sun, a granola bar, and a fruit cup (napkin and spoon included). Sure, Snack Lady probably had the harried mom of three elementary school-aged kids in mind, and not you, when she established her breakfast alternative. But what a great way to score Ziploc bags.